New LPGA international event coming to Sugar Grove in 2016

Paula Creamer tees off on the fourth hole during the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va., on Sept. 8, 2012. (MCT Photo)

The LPGA Tour is returning to the Chicago area in 2016 in the form of a new biennial team event.

The creation of the International Crown tournament was announced Thursday in Orlando, Fla., and LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan said the first event will be in suburban Baltimore in 2014 and the second at Rich Harvest Farms in far west suburban Sugar Grove. Rich Harvest hosted the 2009 Solheim Cup.

Four-player teams from eight countries will compete in the four-day event. The first three days will consist of round-robin pool play, with each country playing two four-ball matches against each of the other countries in its pool.

Five countries will advance to the Sunday singles round, with each country playing one match against every other country. Two points will be awarded for a win and one each for a halve, and the country with the highest cumulative total for the week will split the $400,000 first prize from a $1.6 million purse.

If teams were selected according to the current Rolex rankings, South Korea, the United States, Japan, Sweden, Australia, Spain, Taiwan and England would participate.

"At the LPGA, we celebrate great players from all over the world on a weekly basis, but this is the first time we'll pit country versus country for global bragging rights," Whan said in a statement.

The first tournament will be July 24-27, 2014, at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.